Food Poisoning from Meat
It’s important to cook
meat correctly if you don’t want to contract food poisoning from undercooked
meat. That’s one way of getting food poisoning from meat, and another is to eat
meat that’s tainted with toxins, parasites, bacteria and chemicals. If you cook
meat at the right temperature and thoroughly, you lower or eliminate the
chances of meat food poisoning.
Causes: If meat is inadequately or incorrectly cooked, it allows
disease-infested viruses and bacteria to enter the digestive system of the
meat-eater. Salmonella, E. coli and Clostridium perfringens are the common
causes of meat poisoning.
Meat can also be bacteria-infested at any stage of preparation—right from
slicing meats to laying raw and cooked meats next to each other in the
refrigerator, or cross-contamination.
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| Food Poisoning from Meat |
Symptoms:
Anyone suffering from meat food poisoning will display these
symptoms—diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach cramps. He might also suffer
from fever, blood in stools, headaches and chills and paralysis which prevents
one from breathing naturally and so causing respiratory failure. Problems of
vision show up within 72 hours of eating contaminated meat.
Treatment:
If vomiting persists longer than 12 hours, seek medical advice. A
course of antibiotics or pumping the toxins out of the stomach usually helps.
However, it’s always advisable to remain on liquids and drink electrolytes and
fluids.
Preventing food poisoning from meat:
- Buy meat carefully by first checking
the expiry dates and storing it in a separate bag in the refrigerator,
away from other foods. Buy meat just before returning home so that it does
not warm up before you reach home.
- Always freeze meat and as soon as you
get home.
- Thaw meat quickly, carefully and in
the refrigerator or defrost it in the microwave oven.
- Right from using a chopping board
solely for cutting meat, you should do everything you can to prevent any
form of cross-contamination with other foods.
- The knife that you use to cut meat
should never be used to cut any other food, particularly vegetables. If
you have no other choice but to use the same knife, wash it in hot water
and soap.
- Cut meat with clean hands and ensure
that your kitchen, too, is clean.
- Cook meat thoroughly. If you’re unsure
about whether it has cooked completely, use a meat thermometer. Always
cook meat at the required temperature.
- Heat meat fully so that any live
bacteria can be killed and you are free of meat food poisoning. Cook meat,
beef, lamb and veal at 145 F, and eggs, chicken and turkey at 165 F.
